LARAMIE – For all the positives, the bye week left plenty of time for criticism.
Nobody heard more of it than Karsten Sween, even on the heels of a comeback victory that added to his sparkling record as Wyoming’s starting quarterback.
The sophomore was making too many bad decisions.
Throwing too many poor balls and turning the ball over far too often.
But Sween never lost confidence, and if the sudden doubts about the southpaw had been bothering him, he let out all his frustration on consecutive plays last week against visiting Texas Christian.
“Well, I can be a physical player once in a while,” Sween said. “I just try to play hard.”
That meant lead-blocking for running back Wynel Seldon on a zone-option running play in the fourth quarter. And steamrolling a would-be tackler on the next snap, flattening TCU cornerback Rafael Priest on a 9-yard carry.
His passing numbers weren’t anything special, but those two plays offered a not-so-subtle reminder why he’s the unquestioned leader of the offense.
“Karsten’s a gamer,” Seldon said. “When he gets in the game, he’ll do all kinds of stuff.
“That was a great block. I didn’t even expect him to get out there like that. He was running faster than me, (and) I was thinking that he should have kept the ball.”
He did after springing Seldon’s 23-yard gain, punishing Priest in the process and moving the Cowboys closer for a field goal that would eventually provide the winning margin.
“He’s a tough kid,” Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said. “He’s a big dude for a quarterback, and he isn’t going to slide in on that guy. He had a chance to bulldoze a guy, and he got him.”
The Cowboys might prefer their franchise quarterback play a little more cautious, and Sween typically is.
But with the outcome still undecided – and, perhaps, with two weeks’ worth of questions on his mind – that style didn’t suit him.
“Wynel blocks for me, so I’m going to put myself on the line for those guys, too,” he said
That’s at least one reason the criticism of Sween won’t be heard coming from the Cowboys’ locker room.
